Exclusive I Ruche Moodley ready to build on rookie season

South African Moto3 rider Ruche Moodley is looking forward to a smooth 2026 season after navigating a challenging debut campaign.

Riding for BOE Motorsports, Moodley became the third South African in the paddock, joining Darryn and Brad Binder in other MotoGP classes. The Gqeberha-born rider not only became the third South African on the world stage but also made history as the first rider of colour from South Africa—and indeed from the entire continent—to compete at this level.

He scored 14 points over the season and finished 27th, enduring a stop-start campaign disrupted by injuries that tested both his focus and determination.

Despite the setbacks, the 19-year-old has had his contract extended with the Spanish outfit and remains confident about what lies ahead.

“The injuries were not ideal, especially in my rookie season,” Moodley told the Independent Newspapers.

“I have become more resilient because of the challenges I went through this year, and how intense the season is has made me a stronger person.

“The biggest thing I learned this year is to be high-level in all conditions from the first lap, even if I don’t know the track. It will be a lot easier next year because outside the Czech Republic, where I was injured and missed out, I know all the other 20 tracks.”

The former Red Bull Rookies Cup and European Talent Cup rider revealed that adjusting to the bike and its demands was only part of the learning curve. He also invested significant time off the track to ensure that he was ready for weekends.

“We do a lot of learning of the tracks with a lot of onboard videos of past races, trying to see the lines to take, and also my team sends me the telemetry from the previous year so that I know exactly what gear to be in at every corner, and just playing video games is a good way to learn the tracks,” he continued.

“I have had to adjust my riding style to fit this bike, and going into next season, I can start from the beginning already knowing how to ride it.”

Moodley is drawing motivation from his past progress, particularly the leap he made in the Red Bull Rookies Cup from 19th in 2022 to ninth in 2023. He now aims to regularly challenge for top-ten finishes in the Moto3 World Championship.

“The biggest difference for me between the Red Bull Rookies Cup and the World Championship is the work that we do off the track—the telemetry and the strategy with the team—as we have more focus on the different areas.

“To work with them off the track and to go and apply that on the track was one of the things I learned this year.

"If I can make a similar step as I made in the Rookies Cup—from my first season to the huge step I made in my second season—I think I can be fighting in the top ten from the beginning of the season, which will be a good job, and we will see from there,” he concluded.